Human Peripheral Arteries: Feasibility of Transvenous Intravascular MR Imaging of the Arterial Wall

Feasibility of in vivo transvenous intravascular magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the human arterial wall was determined. All subjects provided written informed consent, and institutional review board approved the study. Six arteries in six patients were imaged with a guidewire placed in the iliac vein (n = 5) or left renal vein (n = 1). Pre- and postcontrast T1-weighted and T2-weighted transvenous MR imaging were performed. An atherosclerotic plaque with a fibrous cap was identified on 27 (42%) of 64 images of veins without stents; intimal hyperplasia in a renal artery with a stent was identified on 12 images. Contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs) on arterial wall postcontrast T1-weighted images were superior to those on images obtained with other sequences (P < .001), and the postcontrast images demonstrated the greatest number of plaques with a low-signal intensity core and fibrous cap. Preliminary results show that transvenous MR imaging is feasible for high-spatial-resolution imaging of the arterial wall and atherosclerotic plaque. Postcontrast T1-weighted imaging affords greatest CNR for the arterial wall.